101st Assembly candidates battle for 250-mile turf

MONTGOMERY — Since she hit the campaign trail in March, Republican Claudia Tenney has spent $1,000 a month on gasoline as she crisscrosses the newly formed 101st Assembly District.

Pauline Liu

MONTGOMERY — Since she hit the campaign trail in March, Republican Claudia Tenney has spent $1,000 a month on gasoline as she crisscrosses the newly formed 101st Assembly District.

Her SUV, a 2010 Buick Enclave, has 76,000 miles on it. The approximately 250-mile battleground that she shares with Democratic challenger Daniel Carter is the longest Assembly district in the state.

Her staffers have jokingly referred to the district as "Nessie," since its outline resembles that of the Loch Ness Monster. "The constituents take a look at the district map and they just gasp and shake their heads," she said.

Carter, 60, a machinist from Herkimer, has made the same trip more than a dozen times in his 2005 Chevy Silverado pickup truck with 100,000 miles on it. It costs him $100 and more than six hours round-trip driving time.

"Whining about it isn't going to do any good because this district is going to be locked in like that for 10 years," said Carter.

The battle for the 101st District pits two politicians who couldn't be more different. It's the 51-year-old career woman from New Hartford against the blue-collar underdog, who's lawn signs read, "Bring Back the Middleclass." It's a district where the 31,250 registered Republicans outnumber the 22,890 Democrats by 27 percent.

Tenney now represents the 115th Assembly District. She was first elected in 2010.

Her rival has been a fixture in Herkimer politics, but is new to the statewide stage. "I might have scared myself off," he said with a laugh.

Not really. Carter explained he decided to throw his hat into the ring in June rather than see a Tenney run unchallenged.

Both candidates have made the economy a key issue in their campaigns.

Tenney, who is both a lawyer and a businesswoman, is calling for reforms to the state's Medicaid program. "Making the cost of government less will enable us to lower taxes and make us more attractive to businesses," she said.

Carter has criticized Tenney's platform on the economy for being too narrow. "I'm a big picture guy," he said. Carter explained that he wants to find ways to lower energy costs, particularly electricity rates.

"That's why so many companies are heading south," he said.

The two rivals had their first and only debate on Wednesday at the studios of WKTV in Utica, where the issue of consolidation took center stage. Herkimer residents had voted down a proposed three-school-district merger a week earlier.

"To force the consolidation of government services is my new thing. (That) and a five-year tax freeze," said Carter during the broadcast. He said there was too much waste.

"I watched the myriad police departments and the road crews basically having a pretty good time of it on the government payroll," he said.